


Vienna in Wintertime

by missrainbowpie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 00:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13224429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrainbowpie/pseuds/missrainbowpie
Summary: Hogwarts Headmistress Helen Magnus and Professor Nikola Tesla share a belated Christmas celebration together.





	Vienna in Wintertime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DownToTheSea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DownToTheSea/gifts).



> Merry belated Christmas, Sarah!! SURPRISE! You're my best friend, so I wish I could have given you the epic 100,000 word slowburn AU you deserve, but alas I'm a vidder at heart, so this is the best I can do lol. Love you!! <3

Hogwarts Headmistress Helen Magnus sat in a plush armchair in her study, a cup of Black Canadian Iced Wine Tea Elixir (Nikola's latest potion) warming her palms, when Professor Nikola Tesla himself bounded up the spiral staircase and stumbled to a stop before her, his hair perfectly ruffled.

“You're back!” he said. Then he crossed his arms over his suit, his face transforming into the pathetic look of baby mandrake root. “Why didn't you tell me you were back?”

She took a sip of her tea, grimacing at the taste. Perhaps it was an acquired taste like the man standing before her. “I regret telling you the passcode to my office,” she muttered.

“How long have you been back?” Nikola persisted.

“An hour. You and Henry were engaged in a rather important conversation concerning the original _Star Wars_ trilogy and how much better life would be if Carrie Fisher was a witch. I didn't want to interrupt.”

“Oh my dear, sweet Helen, when will you learn that you're the only truly important thing in this stuffy old castle?”

A slight blush creeped over her cheeks at his words, much to her annoyance.

“But no matter,” he said, grinning. He bent at the waist and leaned over her, placing a hand on either side of her armchair, trapping her. “You're here now, so let's go.”

“Where?”

“You'll see. No time to waste!”

“Nikola, I'd rather not. Can it wait? I'm quite busy with...” She looked around the room trying to find a more specific excuse, but found none.

“Oh yes, I can see that your tea desperately requires your attention. Of course, my mistake. I'd never dream of tearing you away from this incredibly urgent tea emergency.” He gave her his best puppy dog eyes. “Come with me? Please? I promise you'll like it.”

“Fine, I'll come. But only if you stop batting your eyelashes.”

He stopped. “Splendid!”

He held out his hand, and she took it, letting him pull her out of the chair and lead her down the spiral staircase. He grabbed her green and silver scarf from the hook by the door as they entered the main part of the castle.

“You're going to need this,” he said, wrapping it around her neck. “By the way, how did you like my tea?”

“No comment.”

“No really, what did you think?”

“Honestly... I don't think black tea and wine were meant to mix.”

Nikola glanced down at their still-linked hands as they walked. “I'd say they're mixing well right now.”

Nigel Griffin winked at her from a painting on the wall, then disappeared, turning the painting into a beautiful artistic rendering of a floating Christmas hat.

Helen let go of Nikola's hand before a student saw too. There were already rumors going around about their sordid romantic past; no need to provide fodder for present-day rumors, especially since there was absolutely nothing going on between them now. Absolutely nothing. Just friends, despite Nikola's constant objections. But if she was honest with herself, she was starting to object to their _just friends_ status as well.

He led her in a winding path through the castle, lavish Christmas decorations still up even though the holiday itself was over. Fairy lights floated in the air like actual fairies, evergreen trees stood tall in every corner, dazzling stars on top, and the walls sparkled with enchanted frost. Eventually they stopped in front of the library, and Nikola pointedly looked up with a mischievous grin. He was standing under mistletoe. Again.

She rolled her eyes. “If this is the reason you dragged me halfway across the castle...”

“No, no, but since we're here...”

“No.”

He crossed his arms. “Fine. Then no Christmas gift for you.”

They stood at an impasse for a long moment, neither willing to give in. But eventually her stubbornness gave way to curiosity, and she pecked him on the cheek.

“Was that so hard?”

“Yes.”

She strode past him into the library, the smell of old books bringing back warm memories. He followed her, jogging slightly to get ahead and lead again. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her into the narrow space between two precariously stacked piles of books. “This way!”

After about ten minutes of walking through the infinite library, she was starting to wonder if they would ever get to their destination when he stopped to look at one of the book shelves. He rummaged through the books, his fingertips dancing over the edges, seemingly looking for one in particular. “Aha!” he exclaimed, finding what he was looking for. He tapped the spine of a vintage copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ with his wand, and suddenly the entire wall of books shifted backwards to reveal a secret room.

She followed him inside, stunned that there was a hidden room in the castle that she didn't know about. The cloudy sky outside was recreated on the ceiling above, snow just beginning to fall. Circular walls of mahogany extended up so high that she couldn't see the top, and they were completely covered in ancient books. A large book laid open on a pedestal in the center of the room, framed by a spotlight shining down on its displayed pages.

Nikola stepped up to the pedestal and waved his hand over the book. “Your Christmas gift,” he said.

She had to admit that it was impressive. Stepping up next to Nikola, she reached out to touch the illustration of a mermaid on the ancient pages.

All of the sudden she felt herself whisked away through the air traveling at breakneck speeds, wind rushing through her hair. Then she opened her eyes and found herself in an ethereal sunlit forest on the edge of a frozen lake. She let out a startled breath, which she could see in the cold air. A layer of pristine snow covered the ground, and icicles hung from the branches, charmed to look like strings of origami cranes. Snow finches chirped their songs in the trees above. The frozen lake reflected blue sky and snow-capped mountains in a mirror image. It was a breathtaking sight.

“Where are we?” she asked, turning to face Nikola who was still holding the portkey while straightening his suit.

“Just outside Vienna. That's Schneeberg over there.” He pointed to a tall mountain in the distance, partially obscured by wispy clouds.

“Snow Mountain... This is lovely, thank you.”

He beamed. “Shall we sit?” He gestured to a cozy picnic he had set up in the shade.

They sat down on the blue and bronze pillows underneath falling enchanted snow. A bubble of warmth surrounded them, as if they were sitting in front of a fire, but the snow and ice didn't melt. He handed her a stem glass, pulling a bottle of wine from an ice bucket with a flourish. Popping the cork, he poured her an exceptionally large glass before doing the same for himself.

“Merry belated Christmas, Helen.”

“ _Happy_ belated Christmas, Nikola.”

“God, you're so English...” He said in a breathy laugh.

They clinked their crystal glasses together and each took a sip. Crisp notes of black cherry and plum hit her tongue, contrasting with smooth hints of anise and vanilla. A sigh escaped her lips as the first taste spread relaxation through her body. Much better than having tea alone in her office.

“This cabernet is excellent. Where's it from?” she asked.

“Only the best for you,” he said, deftly avoiding the question. He fiddled with a tassel on one of the pillows, untangling it.

She narrowed her eyes and held her glass up to the sunlight, a faint rainbow forming within it. “This is from my wine cellar, isn't it?”

Nikola huffed. “Okay, yes, it is. But you have the best wine selection in the world. Why do you think I agreed to give up my extravagant life of adventure and spell invention for a drab professorship at Hogwarts?”

“Oh I don't know, I thought maybe our lifelong friendship had something to do with it.” She saw a glimmer of sadness in his eyes when she said the word 'friendship,' but he covered it quickly.

“Well... You may have been part of the reason I stayed.” He looked into her eyes for a beat longer than a friend would have. “A small part.”

The butterflies in her heart told her that she was the only reason he stayed. “But the wine is the main reason,” she said.

A toothy grin spread across his face. “Of course.”

“Well consider the wine cellar my Christmas gift to you. I'd hate to lose my best professor.”

“Really? Then my first decree as the new Hogwarts wine sommelier is to fire the Big Guy. You know he wouldn't let me in while you were gone? I had to bribe a ghost and bewitch a pair of candlesticks and sneak in through the catacombs at two in the morning. The nerve of him! The audacity! The injust--”

“Nikola.” She stilled him, resting her hand on his forearm. “You are not firing my butler.”

He pouted.

“But I will talk with him. From now on, you're in charge of the wine cellar and all its contents. It's the least I can do considering I didn't have a chance to get you a proper gift this year.” She knew he didn't mind, but she still felt a bit guilty.

“Speaking of proper gifts...” He pulled out a red, velvet jewelry box from his inside jacket pocket and set it on the blanket between them. Some falling enchanted snowflakes landed on the velvet like a dusting of powdered sugar then disappeared.

Now she felt even more guilty. He always did Christmas up big, showering her in expensive, thoughtful gifts. She, on the other hand, never remembered until mistletoe showed up in every room of the castle overnight. Nikola always swore it was just some kids playing a prank, but she knew better. Somehow he was always standing directly beneath mistletoe around the holidays. No matter where he was, mistletoe was guaranteed to be above him and a smirk was guaranteed to be on his face. The same face that was staring at her expectantly right now.

She picked up the velvet box and flipped open the lid. Inside, a gorgeous pendant necklace rested on a black satin pillow. A circle of silver looped around an emerald gemstone at the center, a spellbound white flame burning within the crystalline structure. It appeared to be an ancient relic from their days spent exploring the ruins of a magical Celtic city back in the early 1900s.

Nikola gently pulled the scarf from her neck, and it fluttered to a heap on the pillows beside them. “Try it on,” he said, taking the box from her hands and removing the necklace.

She turned around and pulled her chestnut curls to one side as he fastened the clasp behind her neck. His cold fingerprints left a trail on her skin that sent a shiver down her spine. Leaning in close, his lips almost touched her ear. “You're even more stunning than usual,” he murmured, his words grazing her neck, lingering hands running through her long hair, putting it back in place.

She instinctively leaned into his touch, enjoying the familiar feeling of his cold, vampiric hands. But she only indulged herself for a moment before straightening up and turning around. “Thank you, Nikola.” She touched the pendant with a light graze of her fingertips. “It's beautiful.”

“You're most welcome,” he said, looping her scarf back around her neck. He left it open in the front so the pendant was still visible. “And now it's time for the show!”

He jumped up from their picnic in the snow and ran approximately fifteen feet to the shore of the frozen lake, then he twirled around, brandishing his wand. “Are you ready for the main event?” he called, punctuating every word with a grand hand gesture.

She held in a chuckle. “Stop grandstanding and get on with it!” she called back, fixing him with her best stern look.

He looked down at the ground, muttering to himself. “Such a spoilsport, honestly...”

She rolled her eyes, making sure to exaggerate the motion enough so he could see it.

“Fine,” he whined. He spun back around to face the vast expanse of ice. Aiming his wand at the flurries blowing across the surface, he yelled, “Dance, my pretties! Dance!” His voice echoed across the ice, then the flurries began to form into shapes. They were vague at first, but eventually the snow particles formed into dozens of ballet dancers, the beginning sunset creating red and orange sparkles in their pirouettes.

Nikola dusted off his hands and walked back up the incline to her, a satisfied smirk on his face. When he plopped back down on the pillows beside her, he pulled out a cassette player and tapped his wand to the large plastic play button, pushing it with a click. Tchaikovsky's _Nutcracker Suite_ began to filter through the leaves of the forest, the notes as clear as if the orchestra were playing right in front of them.

She raised her eyebrows. “A cassette player? Really?”

“Well iPods are a stupid Muggle invention, and I'm not going to use Edison's phonograph, the prideful windcatcher.”

“First of all, cassette players are _also_ a stupid Muggle invention. Second... What the hell is a 'prideful windcatcher'? I mean, it is an accurate description, but still.” She snickered, always getting a good laugh from his colorful descriptions of Edison. “And third, the man's been dead for eighty years, and he, too, was a Muggle. Don't you think it's time you got over it?” She playfully nudged him with her elbow. “'Tis the season of forgiveness.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “No-- Just-- Leave me and my eternal grudge in peace. Can we please just watch these masterful snowflake dancers perform _The Nutcracker_ , and then cuddle for warmth? It's very cold being a vampire, you know.” He waggled his eyebrows.

She smiled, but said nothing, settling back into the pillows to watch the show. She sipped at her wine as the flurry dancers floated over the ice. As the warmth of the alcohol spread through her, she thought about her close call with death on Christmas Day. A thunder of Peruvian Vipertooth dragons had gotten loose in a small Muggle village, and she had been called in to help given her extensive background in magizoology. One of the dragons had shot a fireball mere inches from her head. The force of it had knocked her to the rocky ground, where the claw of another dragon would have impaled her had she not rolled away at the last second. It had gotten so close that it snagged the fabric of her jacket, ripping it to shreds. She could still feel the bruises on her skin from the ordeal, though the wine was dimming the pain. But she didn't mind the pain; it reminded her that she saved almost a dozen majestic dragons from being killed by terrified Muggles. She and her team used a memory charm on the Muggles, then relocated the creatures to an uninhabited area of the Andes.

But despite the success of the mission, she had realized something that day: she might have an endless lifespan, but she could still be killed by an errant Peruvian Vipertooth dragon claw. That fact hadn't particularly bothered her before, but now she had a life waiting for her back at Hogwarts. _Someone_ waiting for her back at Hogwarts. So why was she holding back from him?

Nikola reached across her to grab the bottle of wine, then topped off their glasses. Settling back down, he crossed his legs at the ankles, the new position causing their legs to touch. She didn't move away, an electrifying tingle shooting over her skin at the point of contact. Even at her age, there was still something special about the feeling of accidentally touching then purposely staying that way, wondering if the other person felt the same sparks. She suspected he did. In fact, it was more than likely that he was _creating_ the sparks. They felt a bit more... real. As did their entire relationship these days.

She and Nikola had been dancing around each other for months, ever since Hogwarts had reopened in September. When Hogwarts was under attack by Voldemort's forces almost a year ago, they had shared a passionate kiss just before their bloody plan went to hell. They had a complicated romantic history, but this kiss had meant something more – they both knew it. There had been no time to fully deal with the ramifications though because she faked her death and blew up the castle a mere five minutes later.

Chaos reigned for months as the castle was rebuilt. He hadn't even known she was still alive until she finally caught up to him in Napa Valley, drinking his sorrows away. So overjoyed at seeing her alive again, he immediately agreed to come back to Hogwarts, provided his office was rebuilt to be twice the size, of course. And here they were.

Things were just now getting back to normal, and while they always bantered and flirted, this felt different, like it might actually lead somewhere beyond words. She hadn't felt that thrill in a long time. In the past, Nikola had been her friend, her colleague, her springtime fling, and even her enemy for a time. Now he might be her soulmate. This was uncharted territory for both of them, even if they had dated for a few months in Vienna over a century ago.

She glanced at Nikola and caught him watching her instead of the performance on the ice. The sun was completely down now, and moonlight shone down on him, illuminating his slight fangs as he smiled at her in an _oops you caught me_ sort of way. Then she caught herself thinking that his fangs were adorable, and she knew what she had to do. No more holding back.

She finished off her second glass of wine. “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Nikola. It's been such a chaotic week that I didn't have the chance to do anything so elaborate for you, but...” She trailed off. This was it. There was no going back now. The beginning of the rest of their eternity. “But I do have something for you that might make up for it.”

His bright blue eyes lit up. “Intriguing! Do tell.”

She tried not to smile at his childlike glee, but failed. “Close your eyes,” she said with a small laugh.

He obediently closed his eyes and sat with his hands in his lap. She took them in her own, and she saw his eyebrows raise slightly at the unexpected touch. Leaning in carefully, she waited for a moment, studying his pure, innocent, utterly dapper face, then closed the rest of the distance and kissed him. The moment their lips touched, his eyes flew open. Then he squeezed her hands and kissed her back. It was gentle, their lips joining together in a delicate pas de deux as the apotheosis of the flurried _Nutcracker_ performance faded to silence on the frozen lake.

They separated slowly, lingering inches from each other. His eyes fluttered open again. They were full of questions.

She spoke in a near whisper. “When you apparated back into my life five years ago, you told me you had always loved me.” It was almost a question, daring him to say it again.

The corners of his mouth twitched up into a smile. “Then you shot a bunch of arrows out of your wand and into my chest. It hurt, but wow it was creative.”

She lifted her gaze from his lips to the deep pools of his eyes and moved a millimeter closer. “I'm not holding my wand now.”

“Damn.” He kept her gaze, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight, reflections of falling snowflakes dancing in his pupils. His thumb ran circles over the inside of her palm. “Helen, my dear, I do love you. Always have, always will,” he said with a shrug, as if it was an obvious fact of life.

Her breath shuddered. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage threatening to leap into her throat. With his admission, her own feelings were suddenly clear as day. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, which gave her the courage she needed. “I love you too, Nikola,” she confessed. “I can't say that I always have, but I can say with certainty that I always will.”

She leaned in to close the distance between them once more, but he released her hands and moved back, swishing his dragon heartstring wand at her.

She laughed. “Afraid I'll shoot you with arrows again?”

“Ooh promise?” He winked, then aimed his wand at a snow-covered branch above them. A string of heart-shaped icicles hung from it reflecting the silver moonbeams from above. He flicked his wand. “Viscum album.” Vines of mistletoe shot from the end of his wand and attached themselves to the branch, wrapping around in a candy-cane spiral. He smiled. “Perfect.”

Then before she could respond, he looped his arm around the small of her back and pulled her to him in a rush, crashing his lips against her own. She opened her mouth to him, tasting the black cherry and vanilla on his tongue, and they fell backwards onto the pillows, enchanted snowflakes falling off of them in disappearing waves.

His slight fangs dug into her bottom lip with a delicious pressure. She could feel his chilled hands running up her bare back beneath her sweater, and she fumbled with the buttons of his vest. Pulling away for a breath, she rested her hands on his chest.

The wind carried the faint tinkle of bells from St. Stephens Cathedral chiming at midnight as fireworks erupted in the far off distance. She hadn't realized it was the 31st of December.

He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Happy New Year, Helen.”

She kissed him softly, whispering against his lips. “Happy New Year, Nikola.”

He grinned up at her. “Care to join me in a reenactment of the last time we were in Vienna?”

“January's a bit early for a proper reenactment, isn't it?” she said, letting her hand flow through the enchanted snow.

He shifted beneath her to pick up his wand and flicked it at the snow-covered ground in front of them. Leafy green stems emerged from beneath the snow and grew into a moonlit field of large yellow sunflowers waving in the breeze.

“There,” he hummed. “Vienna in springtime.”

 


End file.
